Analyzing David Tepper's Ownership of the Panthers
Following previous owner Jerry Richardson's infamous scandal, David Tepper bought the Carolina Panthers for $2.275 billion in May 2018. Since then, the Panthers have experienced many changes within the organization. Some of the decisions Tepper has made might seem questionable to fans, but he has consistently reassured that bringing a Super Bowl to the Carolinas is his ultimate goal.
However, actions speak louder than words.
A franchise needs to establish a winning culture in order to win a Super Bowl, and the Panthers have yet to experience a season with a record over .500 with Tepper as owner. They were 7-9 in 2018 and 5-11 in 2019. To be fair, Tepper had to work with Jerry Richardson's leftovers for the first couple of years.
Once he understood more about the business, Tepper started to make more aggressive moves during this year's offseason.
Tepper made significant changes to the franchise, including parting ways with head coach Ron Rivera, tight end Greg Olsen, and quarterback Cam Newton. However, he kept Panthers general manager Marty Hurney in the front office to continue his work with scouting talent. This has created some controversy with fans, but Tepper brought in some new faces to justify this transition with head coach Matt Rhule and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater taking over as the new driving forces in Carolina.
Tepper was initially assumed to be an "analytics guy," but as time progressed, we learned that he also has an "old school" side to him as well. When Tepper was searching for a new head coach, he stated the following about his personal approach to the game of football:
“It’s great if you have analytics, but you better be practicing to those analytics or you can take the analytics and throw them in the garbage,” Tepper said. “There’s got to be good fundamental football behind it. ... If you don’t practice the right way, you don’t live it, analytics can be a bunch of bulls--- by the same token. You want to talk about third-and-one or fourth-and-one or fourth-and-two, you better be as good as the average team at it, if you’re going to base analytics on the average team.”
Tepper found his guy with this exact approach with Matt Rhule, who has turned around multiple football programs.
The draft was Rhule's first test, and he seemingly passed in aggressive fashion as he selected defensive players in every single round. This was much needed after the Panthers performed horrendously on defense in 2019. Time will tell if these decisions will pay off in the long run. Until then, fans can only hope that the Carolina Panthers will be back in playoff contention and compete for a Super Bowl in the near future.
Outside of football, Tepper has been persistent in creating a larger sports market in the Carolinas.
He landed a Major League Soccer expansion team after paying a reported $325 million entry fee to lead the cause. The billionaire hedge-fund manager has also been working on a project to move Panthers HQ to Rock Hill, SC. This move is projected to cost $225 million in total and bring in a total of $2 billion in revenue.
At the end of the day, Tepper is an excellent businessman. There is no doubt about that. His efforts as the owner of the Carolina Panthers is a work in progress that fans will have to be patient with. He has a much greater vision that will not be realized overnight, but he is seemingly taking the proper steps to ensure that there will be brighter days in Carolina in the near future.
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